Mandalay Bay - Non gaming

We had originally planned on flying SW but I didn’t realize their prices only continue to increase at about 1 month out from your travel date. So we decided to go with Allegiant.

Sorry for the crummy pictures, its all the better my blackberry could do.

Wish I would have taken some pics of the food we ate...

Thursday

While waiting to board the plane in Grand Island the pilot walks in, gets on the intercom and says "Sorry folks but it looks like were going to have to make a fuel stop in Grand Junction, Colorado. It is too hot and humid to fill the plane up here and still be able to take-off with this short of a runway.” Okay, well what are you gonna do…So we get on the plane. Land in Grand Junction and it takes about an hour and 20 minutes before we taxi back to the runway – took about 45 minutes longer than planned. On a side note Allegiant used to fly out of Lincoln, Ne (which has one of the longest runways in the US) before moving to Grand Island – I’m wondering how many fuel stops in Grand Junction it will take before they move back to Lincoln.

When we arrived it the airport it appeared to be fairly busy. It was great to be off the plane.


Love seeing this sign!


So we get to Vegas about 3pm. Check in took about 10 minutes. They gave us room 21313. The room was clean and had a great view of the pool.


At first feel the bed seamed to be very bouncy/springy, but turned out to be pretty comfortable and we slept great.


Bathroom was nice and clean as well.


My girlfriend was thrilled to get her own sink.


His and hers closets next to the bathrooms.




The room did have a mini-fridge but was packed with MBs overpriced items. So after a quick stop in the gift store for a big plastic sack and a trip to the ice machine (which fit nicely into one of the rooms trashcans) we had a usable cooler/mini-fridge. Which we later filled with beer, margarita-mix and a bottle of tequila from the liquor store across the street. I will add that the 375mL bottle of Patron for sale in the room was only $35, which I think is a pretty good price.

We took a walk over to Luxor to eat at Back Stage Deli. They have pretty good food and the prices aren’t too bad either (Sandwiches are big enough to split). Since my gf hasn’t been to Vegas in 2 years we toured City Center and Cosmo, later meet up with one of her friends who was in town for a convention and did some more walking/shopping.

We returned to MB, played some $1 slots and hit zero wins.

House of Blues for dinner. On Thursdays they have live acoustic performances by different people from around town. We were there for 2 of them and both of the performers were pretty impressive. I would definitely do that again. The food was good and the servers were friendly. We took a walk through the casino and one of the promoters for Foundation Room found us and asked if we’d like to check it out. We took the free passes and followed him the entrance. I was surprised to see go-go dancers around the bar here, I thought it was a more laid back kind of place (but I am not going to complain). What an amazing view. The Mandalay Bay lights are incredibly bright! After a few (who’s counting?) Long Islands which were delicious, we headed over to Mix where they were handing out free passes by the entrance. They had a DJ here and the music surprisingly loud compared to the last couple times I have been here. There were quite a few people here and it was a pretty lively place. We retired about 3am.


Friday

We ate at Raffles Café in MB, the food was pretty good. Breakfast for both of us was about $45. Time to check out the pool. We found a smaller pool with mostly adults and a sign that said children must be accompanied by a parent. Bud Light lime 16oz bottles were $7, and we drank plenty of em…damn those go down well when its 105 degrees!

We were going to try the pizza place in Cosmo (neither of us has been) but when we got in there the pizza looked a couple hours old and not the least bit appealing, so we turned around and walked out. So we hoofed it over to Cheesecake Factory in Caesars. Amazing. If you haven’t been here you need to go. On the way out of Caesars I saw a guy handing out cards saying $20 off Absinthe, and saw another person handing out passes to Pure nightclub. I couldn’t believe how many homeless people and the garbage that was on the walkway between Caesars and Bellagio. There was even a card table set up with a lady selling sunglasses. I’m thinking here’s two of the nicest places in this town and look at all this $hit….


When we booked our flight+hotel we got free show tickets to KA. So we walked over to MGM which seems to have only 1 entrance and exit (I know there are a few more) but this place is like a damn maze, and its huge! Maybe its just my mind playing tricks on me because the place seems so small from the outside, but we walked forever in there! So we get to the theatre and they have a girl in there walking around waiting for someone to take a picture so she can go over and tell them no photos…Why don’t they just put up a sign or turn on a projector?? We got there about a half hour before the show started, and that got old. As for the show: the performers were amazing, the stage was mind blowing and the setting was very cool. The fight scenes were very mild and overly fake, (performer swings his sword at his opponent, and never comes closer than 3 feet). I wouldn’t pay $100 to go to this show but it was cool. For me it was something I’d only be interested in seeing once.

We headed over to Palms for some drinks. We went up to Ghostbar which recently got new seating and an update on the sound system. The place was looking pretty good. While we’re at the bar ordering our first drink one of the employees is pushing an empty wheelchair out to the balcony and I’m thinking oh boy… He comes back with a lady who appears to be in her early 40s, with a girl in her 20’s looking very embarrassed following behind, just about now the bartender has our drinks ready so I handle that and then turn to ask my girlfriend what happened, “she was wasted” she says, we both laughed… its easy to do in Vegas…Anyways we both tried a Ghostini, which are pretty good, they have honeydew sort of taste to them. After that it was time for a Long Island. The bartenders here were friendly and you can’t beat the view. Headed back down stairs, made a stop in rain which is always an exciting place. By this time its about 1am and we head up to Moon. After a few more Long Islands and some dancing its about 4am (Its hard to leave this place).

On our way back to MB we’re in a cab with a TV in the back with Steve Wynn talking. Now normally I don’t mind this guy, I actually find him interesting, but the way he was talking was driving me nuts! It was very slow with long pauses between words, and he was trying to sound way too warm and inviting. Wish I could have turned that off.

We return to MB and my gf says “I’m hungry”- and now that she mentions it, so am I. Correct me if I’m wrong but there isn’t a damn thing to eat at MB at 4am. So we walk back outside and get a cab over to Fatburger where the girl at the register doesn’t look like she wants to be there, after some slow service we get our food and it was pretty damn good.

Saturday

We spent more time at the pool, decided to try the wave pool – what a joke. For those of you who have never been here I will explain how they operate. There is a line of blue tile about 30 feet in from the shore of the wave pool, which everyone must be in front of (deep side of the pool) before the make any waves. So, once the lifeguards wrangle everyone in, they send out one wave and repeat the process of moving everyone back in…we bailed after 2 waves and the minute wait between them. We did stop to ask one of the lifeguards why they do that and she said it was because of bodysurfers riding the waves and running into people in the shallow end, which causes a lot of injuries. We were going to try the lazy river but is was absolutely packed, so we wound back up at the quiet pool with again, mostly adults- I think we only saw 2 kids in there. More Bud Light lime for me and my gf tried a margarita – they actually pour 2 shots in, so you know you’re getting some alcohol in it.

Took a stroll over to Slice of Vegas, which was pretty greasy but good. Grabbed some beer to go…I love being able to do that! Only in Vegas! My gf decides we should pick up something for our neighbor who was feeding our cat while we were away, so we walk over to Luxor and stop by one of property maps. I hate looking like a tourist in Vegas, I feel like bait and it never fails…. I knew it was a mistake standing in front of that sign, but I thought we could walk away without being bothered. Wrong! Guy in a suit strolls up and asks how we are enjoying our stay, fine I tell him, drink my beer and continue looking at the sign. He then asks if we would be interested in a free stay at Luxor or Excalibur within the next year. I knew I should have just said no but I figured if he wants to give me a card or something I will take it. I am thinking great I don’t even have play some slots with my card to get a free room… They must really need people to stay here. Turns out the gift shop is about 20 feet away and my girlfriend is smart enough to walk that direction, while I, the sucker proceed to tell this guy I wouldn’t mind staying at Luxor, he says well if you walk right over here I’ll sign you up…here we go…Lady at the computer says “we can give you a free room, you just pay a $120 deposit and we will give you the deposit back when you check out” Okay, standard procedure…She follows up with “I just need your ID and credit card” – “What do you need my credit card for?” I ask – for the deposit, she says. I said I don’t want to give you $120 today if I don’t end up coming back here…She turns somewhat rude and starts rambling, I just said never mind and walked away.

We were planning to eat at Charlie Palmer, but I wasn’t all that hungry and my girlfriend had wanted to get some sushi. So we ended up eating at rm seafood at MB. Our server was very friendly and the food was pretty good. I wouldn’t mind going back.

By this time its 9pm, we go back to the room to have a couple drinks before going out. I open a beer and my gf has half of a margarita and it turns out were both so tired we end up falling asleep. I had hoped to start the night over at Mandarins Skybar (neither of us has been) but I guess it will have to remain on the list for next time.

At checkout we told the clerk that neither of us used any of the amenities that they offer in exchange for paying the resort fee ($28), (newspaper, wireless internet, cardio center, fax machine) she responded with “sorry it’s a mandatory fee”.


Flight left Sunday morning, and its actually good to be back. I am exhausted. I would like to add that both of Allegiants planes were clean and newer looking, with friendly service –so no complaints there other than the fuel stop.

Conclusion

We mainly stayed at MB for the pool which was nice, but we also wanted a good room. Based on the pool area that we used and considering the wave pool was a joke, we would be happy at Flamingo if they get some new rooms.

The elevator area did look like a disaster a few times but we never ended up waiting more than a minute or so. If you plan on doing much traveling between MB and Luxor (or anything in that direction) THE hotel would be a much better place to stay.

I have never been bothered by so many people while on this trip. We got hit up by everyone -the timeshare guys, “hey you’re just 2 blocks away from…”, “you guys gonna be in town tomorrow?” – I’ve never heard so many lines…

I couldn’t believe all the people handing junk out – seems like a huge increase since my last trip (I was just here in September)…Everything from coupon books, 2 for 1’s for this-that and the other stuff. Which reminds me of the saddest thing I saw on this trip, there was a guy on one of the walkways with a puppy that looked just miserable…haven’t seen that before, I did feel bad for the dog.

 

Thanks for posting!

 

Thanks for the report. That is interesting about the wave pool. When I was there last year, they basically had it making waves and the life guards didn't care where anyone stood. I wonder if they do if it gets very crowded. It wasn't that crowded when I was there.

 

No gambling, but it sounds like you had to have a pretty good bankroll for booze alone! Thanks for the tr.

 

FUN!

I enjoyed this report!

 

Sounds like a fun trip. I agree about all the people on the walkways begging..hate it. At least they could ban the poor animals. They don't have a choice.